In the Eye of the Storm (8 page)

It was mild disappointment, she told herself, that he was asking her about work and not about anything of a more…personal nature.  “I…I haven’t really thought too much more about it.  I still think it would be best for me to leave.  I don’t want to be the topic of office gossip.”  She nervously chewed on her bottom lip, willing him to stop staring.  His eyes were drawing her in, making her want things that she had no right to want; to yearn for things she shouldn’t yearn for. 

Inhaling deeply and closing his eyes briefly, Stephen knew what needed to be done.  It was inevitable and he knew that the longer he put this off, the worse it would get.  Reaching out, he placed his hands on her shoulders and Holly thought he was going to pull her in to his embrace as he had earlier in the day.  But he didn’t.  This time, it was more than mild disappointment.

“Well I have thought about it and I think it would be best if you did leave Ballinger’s.”

It was the very last thing she had expected him to say.  All the way to his house last night and all day today she felt as if he was doing everything humanly possible to convince her to stay on as his assistant.  Maybe she had overstepped her bounds; maybe he found her to be too pushy or demanding now that she had finally stood up for herself and decided that he didn’t want to deal with her anymore.  Whatever his reasoning, Holly didn’t expect it to hurt so much for him to not only accept her resignation but to actually encourage it and want her to leave.  Her heart literally ached.

“Oh,” she whispered and finally looked away, down at her feet, willing them once again to move and get her up to her room as quickly as possible before she lost it and started to cry.

Stephen watched her head bow, chin to her chest, and waited to see if she would say anything else; if she would demand to know why he had so suddenly changed his mind.  His hands were still on her shoulders and if she moved even a tiny bit, he would release her.  But she didn’t.  She just stood there, looking fragile and hurt and more beautiful than he had ever noticed before.  He’d seen her in suits, he’d seen her in cocktail dresses and evening gowns but for some reason, the sight of her barefoot and in his basic white t-shirt had him wanting her like he’d never wanted a woman before.

Finally looking back up at him, she seemed about to speak, but thought better of it.  She licked her lips and Stephen followed the path of her delicate pink tongue with hungry eyes.  She was killing him.  He wanted her to speak, to say something.  But when, after several moments of silence she didn’t, Stephen did.  “Aren’t you even the slightest bit curious?  Don’t you want to know why?”  Not trusting her voice to not shake, Holly merely shook her head. 

Taking his hands from her shoulders, he placed an index finger under her chin to keep her looking at him.  “I think that you deserve to know.”

“Stephen, please,” she begged, not wanting to hear his explanation and not sure of how much longer she could stand there before the first tear fell.  Holly never considered herself weak or an overly emotional woman, but something about this entire situation had just brought out the absolute worst in her this weekend.  He had her off balance and for the first time in her life, she had no confidence in herself and was unsure of what to do.   How was someone supposed to stand toe to toe with someone while they told you how much they didn’t want you around?  She’d borne witness to Stephen declining deals with potential clients or even ending relationships with clients; she’d even over-heard him breaking up with a woman or two but she had never been on the receiving end and now that she was, it made her feel slightly ill.  It took her a minute before she even realized that he was talking again.

“If you were no longer my assistant, then we wouldn’t have to worry about office gossip like you mentioned earlier or what Will or Derek thought of our relationship or anyone else for that matter.  You wouldn’t have to be looking over your shoulder wondering if people were whispering about you or questioning how you got the job or what we were doing together while working late or if we were away on a business trip.” 

He was saying exactly what she had said earlier and she was confused.  She wanted to get mad just then and remind him that it was
she
who had been saying this all along.  Why was he suddenly agreeing with her and throwing her words right back at her?  Did he want her to beg?  Cry?  Funny, she never thought Stephen to be cruel, but right now she wasn’t so sure. 

“You said that didn’t matter since there was nothing going on.  You said that I was being crazy and dramatic about the whole situation.  What…I don’t understand.  What changed your mind?”

“This.”  With that, he bent his head and claimed her mouth with his. 

Chapter Five

The moment his mouth touched hers, Stephen was lost.  He had never craved a woman the way he craved Holly.  At this time yesterday, he would have denied it with every fiber of his being.  But now, standing here with her in his arms, he knew he could no longer deny anything where she was concerned.

Stephen had no idea when it had happened but somehow it had.  Somehow he had developed feelings for Holly; he wouldn’t call it love, hell no.  But what he felt for her right now, while wildly sexual, he knew that it went deeper than that and that he needed her like he needed oxygen to breathe.

The feel of Stephen’s mouth on hers took Holly by surprise but it didn’t take long for her to join in and give as good as she was getting.  His lips were so soft and wonderful and as his tongue gently invaded her mouth, she touched her own to it shyly.  When she felt his body shudder, she grew bold.  Chocolate fell to the floor as her arms first wound around his neck and then her fingers were suddenly raking through his hair as she had itched to do all day and it felt glorious.

Heads changed angles, bodies’ shifted, but all Holly knew was that she did not want this to end.  All thought’s of Ballinger’s and co-workers and friends vanished.  There was only this; this need, this chemistry, this desire to be with this man. 

If it were possible, Stephen pulled her closer and sighed with the feel of those stiff and glorious nipples up against his chest.  His hands ran up and down her back, keeping her close. 

He cupped her bottom and felt what had to be the tiniest pair of panties ever created.  It was as if she were wearing nothing and that had him harder than stone.  He forced himself to leave her mouth and work his way across her cheek, to the shell of her ear and felt her sigh; heard her moan.  He kissed her throat up one side and down the other until she was writhing in his arms.

“Stephen, please,” she begged and if he didn’t reign himself in quick, he’d be taking her right there on the kitchen floor.  The storm continued to rage outside but it was nothing compared to what was going on right there in the darkened kitchen. 
       “Are you sure?” he asked raggedly.  He was a little fearful that she had come to her senses but he had to ask; had to know.

“I don’t want to think about work, or people or even tomorrow.  I want you, Stephen.  Now.  Please.”  It was all he needed to hear.  He knew his bedroom was a mile away and yet there was no place else that he wanted to be with her for the first time.  Scooping her up in his arms, he hugged her in close and kissed her thoroughly. 

He kept his eyes on her as much as humanly possible as he walked across the darkness to the stairs and up to his bedroom.  Holly planted kisses along his jaw, his cheek.  Her hot breath felt like heaven.  At the door to his room he placed her on her feet and pressed her against the cool wood.  He needed to feel her against him fully again. 

She reached for him and arched her back away from the door so that she could be pressed against him where she needed him the most.  He was going mad with want for her.  His mouth claimed hers once more and Stephen knew he could kiss her forever and still not have enough.  It was a thought that stilled him briefly.  To clear his head, he broke the kiss and took her by the hands.  He led her in to the room and didn’t stop until they were next to the bed. 

Without words, without asking, he reached for the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head and stood in awe.  That wonderful mane of hair fell about her shoulders, looking tousled and sexy to the point of making him sweat.  She truly was perfection; high, firm breasts, a tiny waist, curvy hips and lean, smooth legs that he could not wait to have wrapped around him. 

Reverently, he reached out and cupped her breasts and she shuddered and purred with pleasure.  He almost came just from the sound of it.  Her head fell back as her hair spilled down her spine.  In that pose, in nothing but those tiny panties was the single most erotic picture Stephen had ever seen in his life. 

She came around slowly, her eyes slumberous as she reached out and ran a hand up his chest and then down, getting under the hem of his shirt so that she could touch skin.  Her hands were so small, so smooth and they felt so good on him that he almost ripped his own shirt off just to give her better access.  Holly worked quickly in getting his shirt over his head.  Once it was gone, she touched him all over before leaning forward and kissing his chest.  She flicked her tongue over each nipple and when he growled, she smiled.

Feeling satisfied that he was as crazed as she was, she stepped away from him and lay down on the bed and reached for him.  It was all the invitation that he needed.  Peeling off his jeans and briefs in record time, he joined her on the bed.  He was beside her, kissing her mouth, touching her body at random but everywhere.  It was heaven.  It was hell.  He wanted to be inside of her desperately but wanted to take it slow.  He wasn’t a teenager, they were two adults and they had all night; there was no reason to rush this and yet that was exactly what his body was yelling at him to do. 

Before he completely lost the ability to think, he reached in to his bedside table for a condom.  Sheathing himself quickly he looked down at the sexy picture she made.  Holly writhed against him, driving him mad with each movement.  “Stephen,” she whispered, it was a plea.  That one single word had him knowing that if he didn’t have her right now, he would be insane in minutes.  He peeled her panties away.  Moving on top of her, Stephen looked down at her face, flush with passion, her eyes dazed.  “Please.”

He was inside of her before the word was finished.  He groaned at the sheer pleasure of it all; the sweet perfection of their bodies fitting together.  He wanted to go slow, knew that if he didn’t get some sort of control of himself, it would be over too soon. But as Holly wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles behind him, he was lost.  Stephen knew that never before had a woman obsessed him as Holly had; no woman had ever made him crave as Holly had; and certainly no woman brought out this animalistic need in him as Holly had. 

Driving in to her fiercely, picking up tempo, she met his every move and purred for more.  Shifting his angle ever-so-slightly, Holly screamed her release, tightening around him in such a way that threw him over the edge with her.  Blind with need, teeth grinding and with a growl that came from the depths of his soul, Stephen spilled all that he had in to her and then cursed himself that it was over so soon.  Too damn soon.

Collapsing on top of her, Stephen could feel Holly’s heart racing against his.  He liked it.  Lifting up so that he could see her face, he was pleased to see that she was smiling and that it was the smile of a very satisfied woman.  Dipping his head, he gently kissed her lips.  She smiled against his before kissing him back.  The first thought to go through his mind was to deepen the kiss and have her again but then thought better of it.  Rolling to the side, he pulled her in close.  Holly’s legs twined with his as her hand rested over his heart and her head on his shoulder.  Stephen played with her hair as he had wanted to all day, only now getting to know its essence, its texture. 

“That was amazing,” she finally said, afraid to speak and break the spell.  So many times she had dreamed of this exact moment – a time where Stephen would finally see her as more than his assistant and not be able to control himself.  The reality was way better than the fantasy.  Unfortunately, she never allowed herself to dream or think beyond this point.  Was he going to say that he was sorry that this happened?  Did she satisfy him?  She knew that Stephen was no saint and over the years she had seen all of his girlfriends come and go.  Would she soon be on that list of those forced to exit?  Thanks to the storm that seemed to settle over his home, Holly had no choice but to say; would Stephen be wishing that she could leave?  Was she supposed to get up and go to her own room now?
       Oh, it was too soon; she was busy basking in the afterglow of mind-blowing, orgasmic sex to think about being shown the door.  As long as there was a storm outside, she was safe.  Like it or not, Stephen was stuck with her for as long as the weather continued to rage.  If this is what they could do to pass the time waiting out the storm, Holly thought that she could live a hundred lifetimes with the wind and rain!

Finally, Stephen answered her, kissing her forehead lightly.  “I don’t think amazing even begins to cover it.”  Holly felt relief at his words and only hoped that her sigh didn’t give her away.  “How about instant oatmeal for breakfast?” he joked.

She chuckled and settled in comfortably beside him.  Stephen hugged her close and within minutes, they both fell asleep for peace had finally come.

Chapter Six

The rest of the night was a haze of passion.  Holly lost count of how many times they had awakened and reached for one another.  Some time around dawn, they had finally reached an agreement that sleep was necessary.  There was something to be said for sleeping in the biggest bed she had ever seen and in the arms of the man who had turned her simple life upside down.

There was no place else she would rather be.

Stephen would have liked to say that it was awkward having someone in his bed, but it wasn’t.  He never brought his former lovers to his home, to his bed, because he never wanted them to get the wrong idea and expect more from him than he had been willing to give, especially after seeing the size of his home.  But yet again, Holly had proved to be the exception to the rule.  Here was just another example of her fitting in to his life when he least expected it.  He wanted to argue it out in his head because he had majorly complicated everything.  He should have never touched her; if he had controlled himself, he’d still have his assistant and his business would go on unaffected.  That wasn’t the case now.  But then again, was now really the time to be thinking about business when he had a sexy, naked woman sleeping beside him?